A Few Military Freebies…
If you are a Veteran or an Active Duty Military Member, then you’ll definitely want to check out the Veteran Tickets Foundation! This national non-profit, non-governmental organization strives to honor Veterans and Active Duty Military everyday not just on Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day and the Fourth of July, but everyday.
Through The Veteran Tickets Foundation, Veterans and Active Duty Military are able to attend sports events, concerts and more for FREE. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Veteran Tickets Foundation, here’s what you need to know…
* You must be Active Duty Military, Veteran or spouse of someone who was killed in action (KIA) in one of the five branches of the U.S. ARMED Forces: Coast Guard (including Reserves), Marine Corps (including Reserves), Air Force (including Air Guard and Reserves), Navy (including Reserves), or Army (including National Guard and Reserves).
* You may only have (1) one account per service member/family
* Only verified accounts can request tickets (it takes 3 business days to verify your status).
* Active Duty Military can be verified by using your .mil email address as your primary email below. A verification email will be sent to that email address that will require a response.
* All Veterans, Severely Wounded Veterans, Spouse of KIAs accounts are carefully manually verified before ticket request can be submitted
**If you have tickets that will go unused or gift certificates (merchandise or restaurants), consider donating them to Veteran Tickets Foundation. You can also make a tax-deductible monetary deduction via Paypal.
(Thanks, Marie!)
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If you prefer amusement parks, then here’s a reminder about the Here’s to the Heroes Program which enables all active duty, activated or drilling reservist, or National Guardsman to FREE admission at participating Anheuser-Busch parks!
To snag your FREE admission, here is what you need to do…
*Click here to register OR register in the entrance plaza of participating parks; you will be required to show a Department of Defense photo ID.
*As many as three direct dependents of military personnel also are entitled to free admission. Dependents may even take advantage of the offer without their service member, though an adult must accompany minor dependents, and dependent ages 10 and over must present a valid dependent I.D.
*This offer is valid for one complimentary single-day admission per person, per year, during the regular operating schedules at one of the following: SeaWorld Orlando, San Diego, or San Antonio, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or Williamsburg, Sesame Place, Water Country USA, Adventure Island (NOT valid at Discovery Cove and Aquatica or Christmas Town at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va.)
(Thanks for the reminder, Wanda!)
If you know of any other great freebies for the military, please share them below!
Check out IAVA.org too. My hubby got 200.00 from JCPenney’s through them from being an Iraq Veteran.
My husband received that as well! He got his very first suit, haha. I didn’t think he was too excited until he started asking everyday if it has came in the mail. (We had to order online as our store only had one, yup one, shirt with the correct brand.)
Angie,
thank you for the link. How does that work? Do you just become a member?
Now I know who could use different tickets that we have received and can’t use them! Thanks for posting this site Collin. I’d much rather send someone who is retired or even active duty than to send someone who I don’t really care about,lol.
Thank you for posting this & thanks Angie for the info on the other website. I think its great that companies give to those who sacrifice so much !!! Blessings
This is an amazing program! We used it one year at Bush Gardens for the buy one day at regular price, come back the second day for $10. For a family of three, we had a two day pass for $30. Well worth the money and so hassle free!
I am wondering if anyone can account for the Veteran Tickets website. My husband is in the military and I would like to take advantage of this benefit, but I am very cautious of giving ANYONE a copy of my husband’s ID and military paperwork proving he is in the service. If anyone out there can give me any info on this organization, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
Joleen Bobkovas
hey. I know that Busch Gardens in Williamsburg (and I am pretty sure the others also) has been doing this for several years now, and I have never heard of any problems, and lots of people have done it. I am a local and this is a very heavy military poulation, so I would expect if there was any problems, it would be well known. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it online, they have a special ticketing area for the Heroes program, so just take care of it at the park. I can’t speak for the other companies.
I can also account for the Bush Gardens Williamsburg. The hero program is great and I know alot of people that use them all the time. This is a great program and I am very grateful that they do this.
If he is in the military, they can verify service with his .mil email address. It is only if he is a veteran that you would need to send other paperwork.
I too am wary of submitting my husbands info. Has anyone signed up with this particular organization and what kind of response have you had? Thanks!
I agree with OPSEC why would you upload a copy of their id card or drivers license? Sounds like a good program but I’m out of this one.
Not sure if this is relevant, but my husband is a veteran and at Home Depot you can get 10% off for showing them your discharge papers. I am sure this would be valid for active military as well. It saves us quite a lot since we shop there often!
Home Depot and Lowe’s both give 10% off.
I knew Lowe’s gives 10%, but I didn’t know Home Depot does, too! Thanks!
At both stores, it sometimes depends on where you live. In one town by me, the store gives the discount, but 20 miles away, the other store (Lowe’s) won’t allow the 10% discount. Be sure to ask at customer service.
I believe the 10% at Lowes is a corporate policy so you might want to make a call! (hubby used to work at Lowes)
Many stores and restaurants give military discounts. Just ask! Sometimes it depends on the manager who is there that day (for restaurants). We used our free pass to SeaWorld 2 days before Christmas. It was well worth the 2 hour drive to get in for free. The only things we paid for was parking and dinner. I am interested to know if the Ticketing thing is legit….
Thank you for the post.
It’s so hard to get anything that is offered to Veterans, unless retired, because the Military ID is taken away and nothing to really replace it except for discharge papers. Not too ideal to have to carry those around for discounts that are sometimes extended to include Veterans.
Maybe there’s a better way that I don’t know about, and either my husband doesn’t know or doesn’t get because he knows I love to spend time on military bases 🙂
There’s just something peaceful and relaxing about the ones I have been to, and it’s really been one of the only places I feel like I belong, even though I never lived on one or served.
LOL I dont know about peacfull and relaxing when my house is shaking all hours of the day and night from planes dropping bombs. Haha
Advanved Auto Parts has a 15% discount for veterans. While I dont have an ID, my veteran plates on the truck did the trick. Are there any male avatars for this forum? My hair is not that long.
Thank you! We do Here’s to the Heroes every year, but that ticket site is really cool.
ourmilitarykids.org
If you or your spouse are in the National Guard or Reserves and are deployed overseas, Our Military Kids can help pay for sports, fine arts and tutoring programs for your children.
this awesome organization will pay up to $500 for EACH dependent child.
They’re not freebies, but two places I learned about over the last year is Pac Sun and Sears. I have bought tools from Sears for YEARS and never knew they gave 10% Military Discount!!! Pac Sun is 10% also.
The Here’s to the Heroes Program is awesome! Every year we were able to take the kids to SeaWorld for Free! It was always on our list of places to go, now that we are stationed in a different area, we can go to a new theme park each year for FREE! This has been one of the best programs for military that there is. Also, the Ripley’s company that has the Aquariums, museums, etc. give an awesome discount for military. I took the kids to the Aquarium in Gattlinburg, TN and all 3 of us got in for $5, that included the souvenier booklet.